Site of Castle

Situated at a fork in a lane on a slight W-facing slope. It is traditionally thought to have been erected during the reign of Elizabeth I and destroyed by Cromwell c. 1650 (O'Flanagan 1929, 51). It is marked with a cluster of cabins on a Down Survey (1655-6) map and terrier, and described as a 'decayed old castle', the property of John Power of Dunhill (WA025-045----) c. 1640 (Simington 1942, 95). It is not visible at ground level. Archaeological testing (02E0423) c. 30m to the SW produced no related material, but two quernstones were recovered in dimantelling an existing building (Gregory 2004, 488, No. 1783). Gregory, N. (2004) Castlereagh/Ballymacarbry: medieval. in I. Bennett (Ed.) Excavations 2002: summary accounts of excavations in Ireland, 488. Wordwell. Bray. O'Flanagan, M. (Compiler) (1929) Letters containing information relative to the antiquities of the county of Waterford collected during the progress of the Ordnance Survey in 1841. Typescript. Bray. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Waterford' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1999). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload/revision: 26 October 2010

Built during the reign of Elizabeth I, Castlereagh was likely held by local gentry and was destroyed around 1650 during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland. It is remembered as part of the historical landscape of early modern Irish fortifications.